Krista Pacion has long been attracted to Democratic politics,
dreaming about her own seat in the Legislature or Congress some
day.

She was first inspired as a Casa Grande high school senior by
her government teacher who also happened to be then-Mayor Bob
Mitchell. She filled out her first voter registration application
even before she turned 18 to be sure she could take part in the
next election. She’s getting married next month to a man she met as
a volunteer for Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign.

But Pacion had only the vaguest idea of what it’s like to run
for office. Fundraising, voter polls, dealing with the media — all
were still a big mystery to her.

So the last six months have been eye-opening as Pacion and eight
other women learned about election campaign building blocks through
a program called Emerge Arizona. The training came from experts
with day-to-day experience, including state lawmakers and some of
Gov. Janet Napolitano’s closest advisers.

On Wednesday night, the governor finished their instruction with
a "graduation" speech in downtown Phoenix.

"The political world isn’t as diverse as it could be," said
Pacion, 29, a technical writer for Scottsdale-based Web site
provider GoDaddy.com. "So seeing women in that role is good
motivation and inspiration for women like me who have a goal of
running for office and want to get more involved. We see it in
action, so we know that it works."

Started three years in San Francisco, Emerge was created by Rep.
Nancy Pelosi, DCalif., the House minority leader, to encourage more
women to become party leaders and to seek office. Napolitano and
other Arizona Democrats quickly saw potential in Pelosi’s idea and
created their own version.

The focus of women leaders helping other women was key for
Michelle Pulich Stewart, 33, a physical geography instructor at
Mesa Community College.

Stewart said she has been a political activist since an early
age. But she only recently took an interest in possibly seeking
elected office after watching Republicans in Arizona and other
states pursue what she considers some "outlandish" ideas.

So Emerge Arizona came along at the perfect time for Stewart to
explore her opportunities as a Tempe resident. "Really, we’re all
qualified to run if we care about the place that we’re in and want
to make a difference," Stewart said. "But I didn’t know much about
the actual strategy and how go through running a campaign."

The political training required the nine women to meet monthly.
They studied everything from how to hire political consultants to
the necessity of constantly repeating key phrases and messages in
order to reach voters.